Amusement structure



J. A. MILLER.

AMUSEMENT STRUCTURE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 10, 1920.

1,380,730. PatentedJune 7,1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

J. A. MILLER.

AMUSEMENT STRUCTURE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 10, I920.

m r 5. mm W, 7 Z, wfi mm 2 m 7 w I of Homewood, in the county of Cook State.

* JOHN A. MILLER, or HOIVIEWOOD, ILLINoIs.

AMUSEMENT STRUCTURE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 7, 1921.

Application filed January 10, 1920. Serial No. 350,540.

To all'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN A. MILLnR, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in- Amusement Structures, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to amusement struc-' tures forinstallations in parks or pleasure resorts. Briefly the invention involves a building into which by a circu tous or camouflaged routepeople, usually 1n pairs,

" are conducted to a small chamber where they sit down, and'while theirattention is being attracted they are suddenly started on a journey down an incline structure.

On the accompanying drawlngs I show a structure incorporating the various features of my invention. On these drawings- Figure 1 1s a'front elevational view,

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on plane 22, Fi 1 Fig.3 is a sectional view on plane 3 3, i Fig. 4 isv a sectional vlew on plane 4-4, Fig. 2,

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional vlew like that ofFig. 2 showing the mechan sm for depositing occupants onto the chute, and

Fig. 6 is a front elevational vlew of the mechanism of Fig. 5.

4 A circuitous pathway 15 leads from the front of the entrance section 10 gradually upwardly tothe chamber 13, the communication being through a-door 16.

In the arrangementof Figs. 1 to 6 an 1ncline structure in the form of a chute or slide 17 extends from the chamber 13 into the section 11 of the buildlng. At its upper end the chute extends a short distance above the floor 18 of the chamber 13 and in the chamber and in front of the chute end a seat 19 is pivoted at 20. An apron 2 and 5. In front of the apron 21 and above i the slide 17 is a movable floor 22 which is suspended by links 23 and 24 from the hinge bar 25 supported by and between the side walls 26 and 27 of the chamber 13. The floor is normally held in horizontal pos1t1on by latch bolt 28 engaging in the side walls 26 and 27 and forming part of latch locks 29. Rising from the outer end of the floor 22 and extending between the side walls 26 and 27 is the dash board or wall 29 th1s wall being of such a height that people sitting on the seat 19 may look thereoverfl When the floor 22 is in hori zontal posltion its inner end is in front of the apron 21 and holds this apron in vertical position which will prevent the'seat19' from tipping. V I I i Alongside of the floor 22 is the chamber 30 which communicates with the chamber 13 through the passageway 31. In this chamber 30 the attendant stands when op erating the various mechanisms for discharging the occupants from the seat 13 onto the chute 17.

A cord 32 extends from the chamber 30 over the pulleys 33 and 34 and then connects with the branches 35 and 36 which engage around pulleys37 and 38 and connect" with the latch bolts 28. During"initialpul1 on the cord 32 the latch bolts'28 will'be withdrawn against .the force of their springs to release the floor 22, and then upon further pull on the cord the floor structure will be swung away from the slide to the position indicated in dotted line Fig. 5. The floor is thus pulled away from under the feet of the occupants of the seat, and then the attendant pulls on a cord 39 which runs over pulleys 210 and 41 and connects with the rear of the seat 19 as indicated at 42. Such pull on the cord 39 Will tip the seat'l9, the apronf2l then sliding down parallel with the Sli e 17 and the occupants then sliding off of the seat over the apron and down theslide 17 underneath the raised floor structure. 43 may be provided for assisting the'apron 21 in holding the seat 19 in horizontal position. This spring may connect between the A spring end of the seat and the bracket 44; which nor- Near the floor of the housing 11 belt rolls 45 are arranged in a horizontal row and support a belt 46 which forms a continuation of the slide 17, the belt being preferably of carpet. People sliding down the chute will land on this carpet belt and their impetus will rotate the belt. The belt could also be positively rotated at the proper rate. To

prevent the belt from sagging too much between the rolls, guards 4E7 are provided. After travel over the belt the persons are landed in the space 48 at the end of the housing 11 and they then walk up the aisles 49 at the sides of the slide and belt and leave through the exits 50 provided in the intermediate partition 51 which separates the entrance space 10 from the main part of the building 11.

The people enter the structure by way of the pathway 15 and are admitted usually two at a time into the chamber 13 by the door 16. They are then seated on the seat 19 and can look out over the front wall 29. To prevent them from seeing the slide and rollers, a screen 52 is suspended practically on a level with the top of the wall 29. The occupants in the seat can then look over the Wall 29 and the screen 52 and their attention is attracted toward the end of the room 11 by moving pictures or otherwise and while their attention is thus held the attendant pulls first the cord 32 and then the cord 39 Which results in withdrawal of the floor structure and tipping of the seat 19 to spill the occupants onto the incline 17 along which they slide and from which they are deposited onto the belt &6 to be delivered thereby into the space 48. To prevent people from accidentally falling from the incline or belt inclined uard walls 53 and 54: are placed alongside t e incline and belt respectively, as clearly indicated in Fig. 3. Through awindow 55 provided in the inner wall of chamber 80 the attendant can observe ahe progress of the people over the slide and elt.

I thus produce a very simple structure which affords considerable sensation and amusement. I am aware that amusement devices are old in which a seat structure is collapsed and its occupant deposited onto an incline. However, in such structures a floor section which primarily receives the feet of the occupants thereafter forms part of the collapsed structure and the occupants must slide over the floor section before reaching the incline structure. Thus if any dirt has been deposited on the floor structure by the occupants, the occupants after collapse of the structure must slide through the dirt. One of the important features of my invention is the elimination of this, for in my arrangement the floor structure which primarily forms a foot board is bodily with drawn and removed from the seat structure and incline and the occupants of the seat structure are deposited directly onto the incline and do not touch the foot board.

1 claim as follows 1. In an amusement structure, the combination of an entrance housing section and an operating housing section, a partition between said sections, an elevated chamber at said partition, a pathway in the entrance section leading up to said chamber, a chute in the operating housing section leading downwardly from said chamber, a seat in said chamber normally held in horizontal position in front of the upper end of said chute, the inner end of said chamber being movable and having a floor section, means normally holding said movable section over the upper end of the chute to hide said chute from the occupants and to hold the floor section in position to form a foot rest for the seat occupants, means for moving said movable'chamber section to expose the chute and to remove the floor sectionfrom in front of the seat, means for tripping said'seat to cause the occupants to slide therefromonto said chute, and exit openings in saidtpartition for permitting exit from the operating housing section of people who have slid down the chute. V

2. In an amusement structure, the combination of an elevated chamber comprising a stationary part and a movable part, a chute leading from said chamber, a tiltable seatin the stationary part of said chamber and in front of the chute end, said movable chamber part having a floor section normally'held to form a foot rest for occupants of said seat, and means for moving said movable chamber part to carry said floor section away from under the feet of the occupants and away from said chute, and means for tilting said seat to depositthe occupants directly on to said chute independently ofsaid floor section.

. 3. In an amusement structure, the combination of an elevated chamber, a tiltable seat in said chamber, a chute leading from. said chamber, a fioor suitably hung to vbe normally in front of said seat to form a foot rest, means for swinging said floor bodily and entirely away from said seat andchute, and means for tilting said'seat to spill its occupants directly on to said chute independently of said floor.

4. In an amusement structure, the combination of an elevated chamber, a chute leading from said chamber, a seat in said chamber, an apron extending from the front edge of said seat to said chute, a movable floor section normally held in position to hold said apron against said chute and to form a foot rest for occupants of said seat, and means for moving said fioor entirely away from said chute whereby to release said apron, and means for tilting said seat to deposit the occupants directly on to said chute and independently of said floor.

5. In an amusement structure of the class described, the combination of an elevated chamber comprising a stationary part and a movable part, a chute leading from said chamber, a tiltable seat in said stationary part, said movable part comprising a vertical wall and a floor section, an apron extending from the front of said seat toward said chute, means for normally holding the movable chamber section with its floor section against the chute to form a foot rest and also to hold said apron in position to prevent tilting of said seat, means for moving said movable chamber section to thereby withdraw said floor section from the chute to release the apron, and means for tilting said seat to deposit the occupants directly on to said chute.

6 In an amusement structure, the combination of an elevated chamber, a seat in said chamber, a chute leading from said chamber, a floor supported to be normally in front of said seat to form a foot rest, means for moving said floor entirely away from in front of said seat and said chute, and means for discharging occupants from said seat directly onto said chute after removal of said floor.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 30th day of December, A. D.

J OHN A. MILLER. 

